Evaluation of the attitudes of individuals living around the mental health and diseases hospital towards hospitals and patients: Manisa example

Purpose: In this study, it is aimed to determine whether the socio-demographic characteristics of individuals living around the of Mental Health and Diseases Hospital were effective on the stigma attitude towards the hospital and patients. Material and Method: The study was conducted with 175 individuals living around Manisa Mental Health and Diseases Hospital. Data were collected between May and June 2019 in this research based on quantitative and general screening model. The survey form prepared by the researcher and the "Community Attitudes Towards the Mentally Ill" developed by Taylor and Dear (1981) constitute the research's data collection tools. The research data was collected by face-to-face interview techniques with individuals. SPSS 21.0 statistical program was used to analyze the research data. Data was analyzed using chi square (X2), Mann Whitney U and Kruskal Wallis - H tests. Findings: It was seen that participants with higher education level and income had more positive attitude. Single individuals were found to be less stigmatizing than married people. In addition, it was seen that those who want to move away from the hospital are more stigmatizing than those who do not. A significant relationship was found between these groups and their attitudes towards individuals with mental health problems (p<0,05). Result: It was concluded that the level of education and the economic situation were effective factors on stigmatization.